This weekend, the Guardian questioned whether making vocational choices at 14 was too early and could be a reason for UTCs struggling to improve their GCSE results and attract students.
Attracting teens to the vocational education system we currently have on offer is challenging.
All the while that vocational further education continues to be viewed as the poorer sister of the academic path, young people (and their parents) will be reluctant to choose it. Invariably, only those without a choice will sign up for an apprenticeship or technical/professional programme. Naturally the mix of those retaking GCSEs or requiring academic support is higher, so the academic results can only look poor comparatively and exacerbate the colleges’ publicity problems.
The problem is that the UK is desperate for the skilled workers that these courses produce. The UK Commission on Employment and Skills reported desperate shortages of skilled workers, particularly in the construction sector, a critical input to our economic growth. Furthermore, this skills gap is set to widen in the wake of Brexit, when these critical cogs cannot be drafted in as readily from Europe.
In reality, the life consequences of someone choosing a vocational course over an academic one are just as rich.
Lower satisfaction levels for those not in education
Recent research of 16,000 surveyed twenty-somethings by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and University College London (UCL) found that all routes into adulthood produced comparable life satisfaction. The ‘Next Step’ study showed that only those not in education, employment or training (NEET) had lower life satisfaction.
This is excellent news for UCLs and providers of vocational courses and apprenticeships who will welcome the endorsement to the life choices they afford to young people. But how can society be shifted to accept vocational courses as a deliberate choice even for those able to go to university?
The key is to get aspirational companies on board with the marketing. The government has made a good effort with its Get In Go Far website, featuring prestigious employers such as Lloyds, BBC and Accenture intended to inspire young learners to choose apprenticeships. Of course, the challenge is marketing the concept to 14-year-olds and their parents.
Tackling the skills shortage head on
There is also a need for vocational courses to focus on the transferable skills not specific to one industry. As well as plumbing, it’s the qualifications in networking, accounting, marketing law and mentoring that goes with it that open routes to countless other professions, and choices.
The government budget for apprenticeships is also set to double in 2019 to 2.5bn, funded by the new levy on all UK businesses with large payroll spend. This too will encourage businesses to take on apprentices to benefit from tax relief. Employers will also have more say in the content standards of vocational courses to ensure they result in real employability.
Until the government successfully raises the profile of apprenticeships and vocational courses, the UK has little hope of conquering its woeful skills shortage.